After a knee injury, the Styrian is still so satisfied with the return course that she wants to ski again soon.
After her serious knee injury, Nicole Schmidhofer achieved another stage win on the way back to the ski race slope. On Thursday, the Styrian, together with her ÖSV colleagues Ramona Siebenhofer and Michaela Heider, not only ventured on jet skis at a sponsor event, but also on the spectacular flyboard afterwards. The next stage already concerns the return to alpine skiing, which should take place in October.
The 2017 Super G world champion suffered multiple ligament and severe vascular injuries in her left knee in Val d'Isere on December 18 of the previous year and had to undergo multiple operations. The return process is proceeding according to plan and the Olympics in February 2022 is still one of Schmidhofer's goals. But she always only looks at the next stage, has already gone through many, emphasized the Styrian. The next one is the return on snow or skis.
First That was what the 32-year-old emphasized in the Speedworld in Pachfurth near Bruck an der Leitha. There the Styrian was once again very courageous, as she climbed onto a flyboard during an appointment with sponsor B + M for spectacular photos. This is a water sports device that is lifted several meters into the air by the recoil of a jet of water.
For the women, too, the World Cup calendar for the coming winter will be much more balanced than it used to be in terms of the division of disciplines. It remains to be seen whether this can be of use to an Austrian. The past season was marked by Corona, but above all by many injuries. In addition to Schmidhofer, Nina Ortlieb, Bernadette Schild, who has since retired, Ricarda Haaser, Katharina Truppe and Stephanie Brunner also had to end the season prematurely.
Along with Katharina Liensberger and Tamara Tippler, Siebenhofer was the only ÖSV rider with a World Cup podium. For the Styrian, thanks to good results in the speed competitions and the giant slalom, the second-best career season measured in terms of World Cup points went on, and she wants to build on that.
After a mixed winter, speed specialist Heider (26), who is in a relationship with double world champion Vincent Kriechmayr, is mainly counting on continued injury-free preparation. “I hope that I will stay fit and be able to perform right from the start,” said the woman from Knittelfeld.
